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Himeka CurielMay 26, 20195min
Hazel V. Carby, who taught English at Wesleyan from 1982 to 1989, was named an Honorary Doctor of Letters during Wesleyan's 187th Commencement Ceremony on May 26. The Charles C. and Dorothea S. Dilley Professor of African American Studies and director of the Initiative on Race, Gender and Globalization at Yale University, Carby was lauded for her decades of insightful scholarship, her activism, and her commitment to advancing African American Studies. More about Hazel Carby Carby's remarks as prepared are below: As a member of the faculty during the 1980s I found students at Wesleyan to be exceptionally creative, imaginative,…

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Christian CamerotaMay 26, 20198min
The Reverend Edwin C. Sanders II ’69 is the senior servant and founder of Metropolitan Interdenominational Church (established 1981) in Nashville, Tennessee. An anthropology major while at Wesleyan, Rev. Sanders began his career as co-director of Wesleyan’s African American Institute, later serving on Wesleyan’s Board of Trustees and receiving the University’s Distinguished Alumnus Award in 2014. He pursued graduate studies at Yale’s and Vanderbilt’s divinity schools, has been a member of advisory committees and councils for the Clinton, Bush, and Obama administrations, and has spoken at numerous international AIDS conferences. Rev. Sanders is the founding chair and current ambassador of the…

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Himeka CurielMay 26, 20195min
Samuel Morreale ’19, a Science in Society and theater double major, delivered the Senior Class Welcome during Wesleyan’s 187th Commencement ceremony on May 26. The text of his remarks as prepared are below: For me, and many others, Wesleyan has been a space of refuge and respite; it has been a place of escape. My experience here has allowed movement from a place of confinement to a place of “freedom.” I’m not naive; I know I am not truly free and probably won’t ever be. Truth is that I escaped one type of confinement only to enter another. But the space…

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Cynthia RockwellMay 26, 20196min
At the Assembly and Annual Meeting of the Wesleyan Alumni Association on May 25, seven alumni received Distinguished Alumnus Awards. Three Outstanding Service Awards were presented, along with the James L. McConaughy Jr. Memorial Award, which is given to a member of the community whose writing conveys “unusual insights and understanding of current and past events." Thomas Kail ’99, renowned and award-winning director and producer for theater, film, and television, delivered the keynote, “Finding Your People Matters the Most," tracing the path that led him to his current position through a dedication to service and surrounding himself with others who…

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Olivia DrakeMay 26, 20192min
Every year at Commencement, Wesleyan recognizes three outstanding teachers with Binswanger Prizes for Excellence in Teaching. These prizes, made possible by gifts from the family of the late Frank G. Binswanger Sr., Hon. ’85, underscore Wesleyan’s commitment to its scholar-teachers, who are responsible for the University’s distinctive approach to liberal arts education. Recommendations are solicited from alumni of the last 10 graduating classes, as well as current juniors, seniors, and graduate students. Recipients are chosen by a selection committee of faculty and members of the Alumni Association Executive Committee. This year, during the 187th Commencement ceremony, Wesleyan honored the following…

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Christian CamerotaMay 26, 20192min
At the University’s 187th Commencement on May 26, Wesleyan presented the Baldwin Medal, the highest award of the Alumni Association, to Barbara-Jan Wilson. For over 36 years, Wilson has been a stalwart in the Wesleyan administration and a driving force behind the University’s fundraising efforts. Beginning at Wesleyan in 1982 as the director of Career Planning, she moved on to serve as dean of Admission and Financial Aid in 1990, and then as vice president of University Relations from 1999 to 2018. Throughout that time, Wilson has been one of the University’s biggest champions and cheerleaders, boldly and convincingly making…

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Olivia DrakeMay 26, 20191min
Alumni—especially those whose class years ended in 4 or 9—joined the families of graduating Class of 2019 seniors for a campus-wide series of celebrations, WESeminars, thesis exhibitions, and festivities. Wesleyan's Class of 1969, celebrating their 50th Reunion, began with a dinner on Thursday to gather the group and kick off the weekend. View photos below or on Wesleyan Tumblr. (more…)

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Olivia DrakeMay 26, 20193min
In 2018–19, six Wesleyan faculty retired from Wesleyan. They were honored during the 187th Commencement ceremony on May 26 and during a special ceremony at the Wasch Center for Retired Faculty. The faculty include: Douglas Charles Professor of Anthropology (2000 – 2019) Associate Professor of Anthropology (1994 – 2000) Assistant Professor of Anthropology (1986 – 1994) Ronald Ebrecht University Organist (1988 – 2019) Artist-in-Residence, Music (2011 – 2019) Laura Grabel Lauren B. Dachs Professor of Science and Society (2008 – 2018) Fisk Professor of Natural Sciences (1996 – 2008) Professor of Biology (1995 – 2018) Associate Professor of Biology (1989…

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Olivia DrakeMay 26, 20191min
Graduation came early this year for women’s lacrosse players. With the team competing in the NCAA championship game on Commencement Sunday, graduating students missed the regular ceremony. The graduating seniors received their degrees at a special ceremony at the Office of Admission, attended by President Roth, Provost Joyce Jacobsen, family, friends, and faculty on Wednesday, May 22. The seniors include Caitlin Wood, Emilie Ogden-Fung, Caroline Sgaglione, Amy Breitfeller, Abigail Horst, and Breanna Cavanaugh. In addition, Nelson Albino, assistant women’s basketball coach, husband of Head Women’s Lacrosse Coach Kim Williams, received a Masters of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS) degree during…

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Christian CamerotaMay 26, 20192min
On Feb. 21, 1969, black students, faculty, and staff staged a historic takeover of Fisk Hall, Wesleyan's main academic building at the time, to protest racism and advocate for increased administrative support for people of color at the University. Dubbed the "Vanguard Class" for their place at the forefront of that movement, several members of the Class of 1969 reconvened at Fisk Hall on Saturday, May 25, 2019, to reflect on what being a part of that momentous event 50 years earlier has meant for them and for Wesleyan since. Speaking to more than 100 attendees in a standing-room-only crowd,…